Rockets search for go-to closer for late-game situations

Adelman says Brooks has tools to get job done

Published 6:30 am, Monday, January 4, 2010

Chris Paul masterfully guided the Hornets through the final minutes of the comeback win over Luis Scola and the Rockets.

Chris Paul masterfully guided the Hornets through the final minutes of the comeback win over Luis Scola and the Rockets.

Photo: Bill Haber, AP

Rockets search for go-to closer for late-game situations

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An hour before the Rockets would face the New Orleans Hornets and roughly three hours before they would blow a lead in the final three minutes, coach Rick Adelman returned to the issue that has been a key to the team's chances since the preseason.

The Rockets had made progress in late-game situations, most recently holding on to beat Dallas on Thursday. But Adelman knew his team was learning, still feeling its way through those crucial parts of the game.

“We still — we've talked about this a lot — don't know when the game is on the line, who do we go to,” Adelman said. “We know who New Orleans is going to go to, but we're still trying to figure out who do we go to.”

Paul provides clinic

Then the Rockets and Hornets demonstrated why he worried. Chris Paul guided New Orleans through those final minutes, getting the Hornets good shots on seven consecutive possessions to finish the game. The Rockets stumbled through tough shots and offensive fouls until they were stuck with a 99-95 loss. And if Paul had not shown enough of a touch through the final minutes Saturday, the Rockets face master closers Kobe Bryant (Lakers) and Steve Nash (Suns) next.

“We just had poor possessions, especially on the offensive end,” Shane Battier said. “From midway through the third period to the end, we just didn't have an answer for Chris Paul's pick-and-roll. They scored at a really, really high percentage. At our offensive end, we had poor execution and didn't get high-percentage shots.

“I would call this a growing-pains loss. We have to understand what works for us down the stretch, what doesn't. Especially on the defensive end, when you are playing a dominant pick-and-roll player, we have to find ways to slow him down and make someone else beat us.

“And on the offensive end, figure out what's working. Obviously, Carl (Landry) was in foul trouble, so that changed our game plan. These are the games we have to learn from if we want to win in the second half of the season.”

But the Rockets believe they have improved throughout the season in closing time. They are 9-5 in games decided by seven or fewer points or in overtime.

Some improvement

“It's not always going to be improvement in anything,” forward Luis Scola said. “You play a lot of games. There is going to be off nights. We played a solid game. We just didn't close it good. We're getting better, but there's going to be slipups every now and then.”

The Rockets have players who can get their shots, with Landry and Aaron Brooks often scoring well late in games. But the next step Adelman wants to see is Brooks add more playmaking.

“Aaron is the guy who has the most ability that we have,” Adelman said. “He's so quick and fast, if he gets a step on somebody, he's going to get to the basket.

“There are two areas he has to get better at. One is the little pull-up jumper, which he can make. He doesn't look for it enough. The other is he's a scorer first. He's thinking about his shot. Eventually, he's got to learn how to find our big guys at the basket when they all converge on him. He doesn't have great size, (but) there are a lot of guys who don't have great size who have the ability to find people when they get to the basket.

“Unfortunately, for Aaron right now, it's 100 miles per hour or nothing. When he gets around the guy, sometimes you need to slow down and let the defense commit. That opens up the alleys for you. He still hasn't quite got to that point, but he has the most ability and most potential of all our guys.”

If Adelman was not clear, Paul offered a demonstration. The key is for the Rockets to grow from Saturday's pains.